U.S. patent number 7,883,214 [Application Number 11/711,980] was granted by the patent office on 2011-02-08 for compact image projection arrangement with correction for laser beam angular misalignment.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Microvision, Inc.. Invention is credited to Duanfeng He, Miklos Stern, Dmitriy Yavid.
United States Patent |
7,883,214 |
He , et al. |
February 8, 2011 |
Compact image projection arrangement with correction for laser beam
angular misalignment
Abstract
A lightweight, compact image projection module has a laser
package having a common exit port, and a plurality of lasers
mounted in the package and operative for emitting a plurality of
laser beams of different wavelengths through the common exit port.
An optical assembly focuses the laser beams exiting the common exit
port, and includes a common focusing lens through which the laser
beams pass along respective paths that are in angular misalignment.
An optical corrector element in at least one of the paths corrects
the misalignment to produce aligned beams. A scanner sweeps the
aligned beams in a pattern of scan lines, each scan line having a
number of pixels. A controller causes selected pixels to be
illuminated, and rendered visible, by the aligned beams to produce
the image.
Inventors: |
He; Duanfeng (South Setauket,
NY), Stern; Miklos (Woodmere, NY), Yavid; Dmitriy
(Stony Brook, NY) |
Assignee: |
Microvision, Inc. (Redmond,
WA)
|
Family
ID: |
39715463 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/711,980 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2007 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20080204669 A1 |
Aug 28, 2008 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
353/69; 353/30;
353/81 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03B
21/28 (20130101); G03B 21/14 (20130101); H04N
9/3164 (20130101); H04N 9/3129 (20130101); G03B
5/00 (20130101); G03B 33/12 (20130101); G03B
21/208 (20130101); G03B 33/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03B
21/38 (20060101); G03B 21/14 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;353/30,31,32,33,37,81,121,69 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lee; John R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wills; Kevin D.
Claims
We claim:
1. An image projection arrangement for projecting a
two-dimensional, color image, comprising: a scanner including a
movable scan mirror; a laser package spaced away from the scan
mirror, and including a common substrate, a common exit port, and a
plurality of solid-state, semiconductor laser chips mounted on the
common substrate within the package, the laser chips being
operative for emitting a plurality of laser beams of different
wavelengths through the common exit port towards the scan mirror; a
common focusing lens through which the plurality of laser beams
pass towards the scan minor along respective divergent paths that
are in angular misalignment; an optical corrector element
positioned in at least one of the divergent paths, for correcting
the misalignment, and for directing the plurality of laser beams to
be incident, and occupy a common footprint, on the scan minor; and
a controller for moving the scan minor to sweep the incident laser
beams in a pattern of scan lines in space, each scan line having a
number of pixels, and for causing selected pixels to be
illuminated, and rendered visible, to produce the image.
2. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the laser
chips are spaced apart on the common substrate and respectively
generate red and blue laser beams.
3. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, and further
comprising a diode-pumped YAG laser located exteriorly of the
package and an optical frequency doubler for producing a green
laser beam.
4. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the scan
minor is oscillatable for sweeping the incident beams along a first
direction at a first scan rate and over a first scan angle, and
wherein the scanner includes another oscillatable scan minor for
sweeping the swept beams along a second direction substantially
perpendicular to the first direction, and at a second scan rate
different from the first scan rate, and at a second scan angle
different from the first scan angle.
5. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, and further
comprising a common aperture stop through which the plurality of
laser beams pass towards the scan minor.
6. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the optical
corrector element is a prism.
7. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the optical
corrector element is a lens.
8. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the optical
corrector element is a grating.
9. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the optical
corrector element is positioned in only one of the divergent
paths.
10. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the
optical corrector element is positioned in a plurality of the
divergent paths.
11. The image projection arrangement of claim 1, wherein the
controller is operative for energizing the laser chips to
illuminate the selected pixels, and for deenergizing the laser
chips to non-illuminate pixels other than the selected pixels.
12. An image projection arrangement for projecting a
two-dimensional, color image, comprising: scanning means including
a movable scan mirror; a laser package spaced away from the scan
mirror, and including a common substrate, a common exit port, and a
plurality of solid-state, semiconductor laser chips mounted on the
common substrate within the package, the laser chips being
operative for emitting a plurality of laser beams of different
wavelengths through the common exit port towards the scan mirror;
common focusing means through which the plurality of laser beams
pass towards the scan minor along respective divergent paths that
are in angular misalignment; optical corrector means positioned in
at least one of the divergent paths, for correcting the
misalignment, and for directing the plurality of laser beams to be
incident, and occupy a common footprint, on the scan minor; and
control means for moving the scan minor to sweep the incident laser
beams in a pattern of scan lines in space, each scan line having a
number of pixels, and for causing selected pixels to be
illuminated, and rendered visible, to produce the image.
13. The image projection arrangement of claim 12, wherein the
optical corrector means is positioned in only one of the divergent
paths.
14. The image projection arrangement of claim 12, wherein the
optical corrector means is positioned in a plurality of the
divergent paths.
15. The image projection arrangement of claim 12, wherein the
control means is operative for energizing the laser chips to
illuminate the selected pixels, and for deenergizing the laser
chips to non-illuminate pixels other than the selected pixels.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a color image projection
arrangement and, more particularly, to reducing the size, weight
and assembly cost of the arrangement.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally known to project a two-dimensional image in color
on a screen based on a pair of scan mirrors which oscillate in
mutually orthogonal directions to scan a plurality of differently
colored and focused laser beams, for example, red, blue and green,
over a raster pattern of scan lines, each scan line having a number
of pixels. A controller processes video data from a host, as well
as control data with the host in order to form the image by
selectively energizing and deenergizing a plurality of lasers that
emit the laser beams.
The known image projection arrangements require each laser to be
mounted in its own package having an exit port. Also, each laser
beam exiting a respective port is required to be focused and shaped
by its own set of optical elements. In addition, all the laser
beams must be combined before being directed to the scan
mirrors.
As advantageous as these known arrangements are, the use of
multiple laser packages and multiple focusing, shaping and
combining optical elements occupy space and add weight and cost,
not only in the manufacture and supply of multiple parts, but also
in the installation and alignment of multiple parts. Reducing the
size, weight and assembly cost of the arrangement enables its ready
integration into many more devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One feature of this invention resides, briefly stated, in an image
projection arrangement for, and a method of, projecting a
two-dimensional, color image. The arrangement includes a support; a
laser assembly on the support, for emitting a plurality of laser
beams of different wavelengths; an optical assembly on the support,
for focusing the laser beams; a scanner on the support, for
sweeping the focused beams in a pattern of scan lines in space at a
working distance from the support, each scan line having a number
of pixels; and a controller operatively connected to the laser
assembly and the scanner, for causing selected pixels to be
illuminated, and rendered visible, by the focused beams to produce
the image.
In the preferred embodiment, the laser assembly includes a
plurality of red, blue and green lasers for respectively emitting
red, blue and green laser beams; and the scanner includes a pair of
oscillatable scan mirrors for sweeping the focused beams along
generally mutually orthogonal directions at different scan rates
and at different scan angles.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention, a plurality of the
lasers is mounted in a single, common laser package having a common
exit port through which a plurality of the laser beams pass.
Preferably, these lasers constitute red and blue, solid-state,
semiconductor laser chips mounted on a common substrate within the
package for respectively generating red and blue laser beams. By
packaging a plurality of lasers in a single package, overall system
weight, size, assembly cost, and complexity are reduced.
After the laser beams exit the common exit port, according to
another aspect of this invention, the laser beams are directed to a
common focusing lens through which the laser beams pass along
respective paths that are in angular misalignment. A common
aperture stop may be located in the paths of the laser beams
exiting the common exit port. Again, by sharing a focusing lens and
an aperture stop for a plurality of beams, overall system weight,
size, assembly cost, and complexity are reduced.
An optical corrector element is provided in at least one of the
paths for correcting the misalignment to produce aligned beams that
are directed to the scanner. The optical corrector element may be a
prism, a lens, a grating, or a folding mirror. The optical
corrector element is operative for directing one laser beam in at
least one of the paths, or both laser beams in a pair of the paths,
to a common footprint on the scan mirror.
The image resolution preferably exceeds one-fourth of VGA quality,
but typically equals or exceeds VGA quality. The support, laser
assembly, scanner, controller, and optical assembly preferably
occupy a volume of less than thirty cubic centimeters.
The assembly is interchangeably mountable in housings of different
form factors, including, but not limited to, a pen-shaped,
gun-shaped or flashlight-shaped instrument, a personal digital
assistant, a pendant, a watch, a computer, and, in short, any shape
due to its compact and miniature size. The projected image can be
used for advertising or signage purposes, or for a television or
computer monitor screen, and, in short, for any purpose desiring
something to be displayed.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the
invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The
invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its
method of operation, together with additional objects and
advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following
description of specific embodiments when read in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hand-held instrument projecting
an image at a working distance therefrom;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged, overhead, perspective view of an image
projection arrangement in accordance with this invention for
installation in the instrument of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective front view of an inertial drive for use in
the arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a perspective rear view of the inertial drive of FIG.
4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a practical implementation of the
arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is an electrical schematic block diagram depicting operation
of the arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting an assembly of a plurality of
lasers in a single package sharing an aperture stop and a focusing
lens; and
FIGS. 9-12 are diagrams of different optical corrector elements for
correcting for angular misalignment in the assembly of FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 generally identifies a hand-held
instrument, for example, a personal digital assistant, in which a
lightweight, compact, image projection arrangement 20, as shown in
FIG. 2, is mounted and operative for projecting a two-dimensional
color image at a variable distance from the instrument. By way of
example, an image 18 is situated within a working range of
distances relative to the instrument 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image 18 extends over an optical horizontal
scan angle A extending along the horizontal direction, and over an
optical vertical scan angle B extending along the vertical
direction, of the image. As described below, the image is comprised
of illuminated and non-illuminated pixels on a raster pattern of
scan lines swept by a scanner in the arrangement 20.
The parallelepiped shape of the instrument 10 represents just one
form factor of a housing in which the arrangement 20 may be
implemented. The instrument can be shaped as a pen, a cellular
telephone, a clamshell, or a wristwatch.
In the preferred embodiment, the arrangement 20 measures less than
about 30 cubic centimeters in volume. This compact, miniature size
allows the arrangement 20 to be mounted in housings of many diverse
shapes, large or small, portable or stationary, including some
having an on-board display 12, a keypad 14, and a window 16 through
which the image is projected.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the arrangement 20 includes a
solid-state, preferably a packaged semiconductor laser 22 which,
when energized, emits a bright red laser beam at about 635-655
nanometers. Lens 24 is a biaspheric convex lens having a positive
focal length and is operative for collecting virtually all the
energy in the red beam and for producing a diffraction-limited
beam. Lens 26 is a concave lens having a negative focal length.
Lenses 24, 26 are held by non-illustrated respective lens holders
apart on a support (not illustrated in FIG. 2 for clarity) inside
the instrument 10. The lenses 24, 26 shape the red beam profile
over the working distance.
Another solid-state, packaged semiconductor laser 28 is mounted on
the support and, when energized, emits a diffraction-limited blue
laser beam at about 475-505 nanometers. Another biaspheric convex
lens 30 and a concave lens 32 are employed to shape the blue beam
profile in a manner analogous to lenses 24, 26.
A green laser beam having a wavelength on the order of 530
nanometers is generated not by a semiconductor laser, but instead
by a green module 34 having an infrared diode-pumped YAG crystal
laser whose output beam at 1060 nanometers. A non-linear frequency
doubling crystal is included in the infrared laser cavity between
the two laser mirrors. Since the infrared laser power inside the
cavity is much larger than the power coupled outside the cavity,
the frequency doubler is more efficient for generating the double
frequency green light inside the cavity. The output mirror of the
laser is reflective to the 1060 nm infrared radiation, and
transmissive to the doubled 530 nm green laser beam. Since the
correct operation of the solid-state laser and frequency doubler
require precise temperature control, a semiconductor device relying
on the Peltier effect is used to control the temperature of the
green laser module. The thermo-electric cooler can either heat or
cool the device depending on the polarity of the applied current. A
thermistor is part of the green laser module in order to monitor
its temperature. The readout from the thermistor is fed to the
controller, which adjusts the control current to the
thermo-electric cooler accordingly.
As explained below, the lasers are pulsed in operation at
frequencies on the order of 100 MHz. The red and blue semiconductor
lasers 22, 28 can be pulsed at such high frequencies, but the
currently available green solid-state lasers cannot. As a result,
the green laser beam exiting the green module 34 is pulsed with an
acousto-optical modulator 36 which creates an acoustic standing
wave inside a crystal for diffracting the green beam. The modulator
36, however, produces a zero-order, non-diffracted beam 38 and a
first-order, pulsed, diffracted beam 40. The beams 38, 40 diverge
from each other and, in order to separate them to eliminate the
undesirable zero-order beam 38, the beams 38, 40 are routed along a
long, folded path having a folding mirror 42. Alternatively, an
electro-optic, modulator can be used either externally or
internally to the green laser module to pulse the green laser beam.
Other possible ways to modulate the green laser beam include
electro-absorption modulation, or Mach-Zender interferometer. The
beams 38, 40 are routed through positive and negative lenses 44,
46. However, only the diffracted green beam 40 is allowed to
impinge upon, and reflect from, the folding mirror 48. The
non-diffracted beam 38 is absorbed by an absorber 50, preferably
mounted on the mirror 48.
The arrangement includes a pair of dichroic filters 52, 54 arranged
to make the green, blue and red beams as collinear as possible
before reaching a scanning assembly 60. Filter 52 allows the green
beam 40 to pass therethrough, but the blue beam 56 from the blue
laser 28 is reflected by the interference effect. Filter 54 allows
the green and blue beams 40, 56 to pass therethrough, but the red
beam 58 from the red laser 22 is reflected by the interference
effect.
The nearly collinear beams 40, 56, 58 are directed to, and
reflected off, a stationary bounce mirror 62. The scanning assembly
60 includes a first scan mirror 64 oscillatable by an inertial
drive 66 (shown in isolation in FIGS. 4-5) at a first scan rate to
sweep the laser beams reflected off the bounce mirror 62 over the
first horizontal scan angle A, and a second scan mirror 68
oscillatable by an electromagnetic drive 70 at a second scan rate
to sweep the laser beams reflected off the first scan mirror 64
over the second vertical scan angle B. In a variant construction,
the scan mirrors 64, 68 can be replaced by a single two-axis
mirror.
The inertial drive 66 is a high-speed, low electrical
power-consuming component. The use of the inertial drive reduces
power consumption of the scanning assembly 60 to less than one watt
and, in the case of projecting a color image, as described below,
to less than ten watts.
The drive 66 includes a movable frame 74 for supporting the scan
mirror 64 by means of a hinge that includes a pair of collinear
hinge portions 76, 78 extending along a hinge axis and connected
between opposite regions of the scan mirror 64 and opposite regions
of the frame. The frame 74 need not surround the scan mirror 64, as
shown.
The frame, hinge portions and scan mirror are fabricated of a
one-piece, generally planar, silicon substrate which is
approximately 150 microns thick. The silicon is etched to form
omega-shaped slots having upper parallel slot sections, lower
parallel slot sections, and U-shaped central slot sections. The
scan mirror 64 preferably has an oval shape and is free to move in
the slot sections. In the preferred embodiment, the dimensions
along the axes of the oval-shaped scan mirror measure 749
microns.times.1600 microns. Each hinge portion measures 27 microns
in width and 1130 microns in length. The frame has a rectangular
shape measuring 3100 microns in width and 4600 microns in
length.
The inertial drive is mounted on a generally planar, printed
circuit board 80 and is operative for directly moving the frame
and, by inertia, for indirectly oscillating the scan mirror 64
about the hinge axis.
One embodiment of the inertial drive includes a pair of
piezoelectric transducers 82, 84 extending perpendicularly of the
board 80 and into contact with spaced apart portions of the frame
74 at either side of hinge portion 76. An adhesive may be used to
insure a permanent contact between one end of each transducer and
each frame portion. The opposite end of each transducer projects
out of the rear of the board 80 and is electrically connected by
wires 86, 88 to a periodic alternating voltage source (not
shown).
In use, the periodic signal applies a periodic drive voltage to
each transducer and causes the respective transducer to
alternatingly extend and contract in length. When transducer 82
extends, transducer 84 contracts, and vice versa, thereby
simultaneously pushing and pulling the spaced apart frame portions
and causing the frame to twist about the hinge axis. The drive
voltage has a frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of
the scan mirror. The scan mirror is moved from its initial rest
position until it also oscillates about the hinge axis at the
resonant frequency. In a preferred embodiment, the frame and the
scan mirror are about 150 microns thick, and the scan mirror has a
high Q factor. A movement on the order of 1 micron by each
transducer can cause oscillation of the scan mirror at scan rates
in excess of 20 kHz.
Another pair of piezoelectric transducers 90, 92 extends
perpendicularly of the board 80 and into permanent contact with
spaced apart portions of the frame 74 at either side of hinge
portion 78. Transducers 90, 92 serve as feedback devices to monitor
the oscillating movement of the frame and to generate and conduct
electrical feedback signals along wires 94, 96 to a feedback
control circuit (not shown).
Although light can reflect off an outer surface of the scan mirror,
it is desirable to coat the surface of the mirror 64 with a
specular coating made of gold, silver, aluminum, or a specially
designed highly reflective dielectric coating.
The electromagnetic drive 70 includes a permanent magnet jointly
mounted on and behind the second scan mirror 68, and an
electromagnetic coil 72 operative for generating a periodic
magnetic field in response to receiving a periodic drive signal.
The coil 72 is adjacent the magnet so that the periodic field
magnetically interacts with the permanent field of the magnet and
causes the magnet and, in turn, the second scan mirror 68 to
oscillate.
The inertial drive 66 oscillates the scan mirror 64 at a high speed
at a scan rate preferably greater than 5 kHz and, more
particularly, on the order of 18 kHz or more. This high scan rate
is at an inaudible frequency, thereby minimizing noise and
vibration. The electromagnetic drive 70 oscillates the scan mirror
68 at a slower scan rate on the order of 40 Hz which is fast enough
to allow the image to persist on a human eye retina without
excessive flicker.
The faster mirror 64 sweeps a horizontal scan line, and the slower
mirror 68 sweeps the horizontal scan line vertically, thereby
creating a raster pattern which is a grid or sequence of roughly
parallel scan lines from which the image is constructed. Each scan
line has a number of pixels. The image resolution is preferably XGA
quality of 1024.times.768 pixels. Over a limited working range a
high-definition television standard, denoted 720p, 1270.times.720
pixels can be displayed. In some applications, a one-half VGA
quality of 320.times.480 pixels, or one-fourth VGA quality of
320.times.240 pixels, is sufficient. At minimum, a resolution of
160.times.160 pixels is desired.
The roles of the mirrors 64, 68 could be reversed so that mirror 68
is the faster, and mirror 64 is the slower. Mirror 64 can also be
designed to sweep the vertical scan line, in which event, mirror 68
would sweep the horizontal scan line. Also, the inertial drive can
be used to drive the mirror 68. Indeed, either mirror can be driven
by an electromechanical, electrical, mechanical, electrostatic,
magnetic, or electromagnetic drive.
The slow-mirror is operated in a constant velocity sweep-mode
during which time the image is displayed. During the mirror's
return, the mirror is swept back into the initial position at its
natural frequency, which is significantly higher. During the
mirror's return trip, the lasers can be powered down in order to
reduce the power consumption of the device.
FIG. 6 is a practical implementation of the arrangement 20 in the
same perspective as that of FIG. 2. The aforementioned components
are mounted on a support which includes a top cover 100 and a
support plate 102. Holders 104, 106, 108, 110, 112 respectively
hold folding mirrors 42, 48, filters 52, 54 and bounce mirror 62 in
mutual alignment. Each holder has a plurality of positioning slots
for receiving positioning posts stationarily mounted on the
support. Thus, the mirrors and filters are correctly positioned. As
shown, there are three posts, thereby permitting two angular
adjustments and one lateral adjustment. Each holder can be glued in
its final position.
The image is constructed by selective illumination of the pixels in
one or more of the scan lines. As described below in greater detail
with reference to FIG. 7, a controller 114 causes selected pixels
in the raster pattern to be illuminated, and rendered visible, by
the three laser beams. For example, red, blue and green power
controllers 116, 118, 120 respectively conduct electrical currents
to the red, blue and green lasers 22, 28, 34 to energize the latter
to emit respective light beams at each selected pixel, and do not
conduct electrical currents to the red, blue and green lasers to
deenergize the latter to non-illuminate the other non-selected
pixels. The resulting pattern of illuminated and non-illuminated
pixels comprise the image, which can be any display of human- or
machine-readable information or graphic.
Referring to FIG. 1, the raster pattern is shown in an enlarged
view. Starting at an end point, the laser beams are swept by the
inertial drive along the horizontal direction at the horizontal
scan rate to an opposite end point to form a scan line. Thereupon,
the laser beams are swept by the electromagnetic drive 70 along the
vertical direction at the vertical scan rate to another end point
to form a second scan line. The formation of successive scan lines
proceeds in the same manner.
The image is created in the raster pattern by energizing or pulsing
the lasers on and off at selected times under control of the
microprocessor 114 or controller by operation of the power
controllers 116, 118, 120. The lasers produce visible light and are
turned on only when a pixel in the desired image is desired to be
seen. The color of each pixel is determined by one or more of the
colors of the beams. Any color in the visible light spectrum can be
formed by the selective superimposition of one or more of the red,
blue, and green lasers. The raster pattern is a grid made of
multiple pixels on each line, and of multiple lines. The image is a
bit-map of selected pixels. Every letter or number, any graphical
design or logo, and even machine-readable bar code symbols, can be
formed as a bit-mapped image.
As shown in FIG. 7, an incoming video signal having vertical and
horizontal synchronization data, as well as pixel and clock data,
is sent to red, blue and green buffers 122, 124, 126 under control
of the microprocessor 114. The storage of one full VGA frame
requires many kilobytes, and it would be desirable to have enough
memory in the buffers for two full frames to enable one frame to be
written, while another frame is being processed and projected. The
buffered data is sent to a formatter 128 under control of a speed
profiler 130 and to red, blue and green look up tables (LUTs) 132,
134, 136 to correct inherent internal distortions caused by
scanning, as well as geometrical distortions caused by the angle of
the display of the projected image. The resulting red, blue and
green digital signals are converted to red, blue and green analog
signals by digital to analog converters (DACs) 138, 140, 142. The
red and blue analog signals are fed to red and blue laser drivers
(LDs) 144, 146 which are also connected to the red and blue power
controllers 116, 118. The green analog signal is fed to an
acousto-optical module (AOM) radio frequency (RF) driver 150 and,
in turn, to the green laser 34 which is also connected to a green
LD 148 and to the green power controller 120.
Feedback controls are also shown in FIG. 7, including red, blue and
green photodiode amplifiers 152, 154, 156 connected to red, blue
and green analog-to-digital (A/D) converters 158, 160, 162 and, in
turn, to the microprocessor 114. Heat is monitored by a thermistor
amplifier 164 connected to an A/D converter 166 and, in turn, to
the microprocessor.
The scan mirrors 64, 68 are driven by drivers 168, 170 which are
fed analog drive signals from DACs 172, 174 which are, in turn,
connected to the microprocessor. Feedback amplifiers 176, 178
detect the position of the scan mirrors 64, 68, and are connected
to feedback A/Ds 180, 182 and, in turn, to the microprocessor.
A power management circuit 184 is operative to minimize power while
allowing fast on-times, preferably by keeping the green laser on
all the time, and by keeping the current of the red and blue lasers
just below the lasing threshold.
A laser safety shut down circuit 186 is operative to shut the
lasers off if either of the scan mirrors 64, 68 is detected as
being out of position.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention, as shown in FIG.
8, the above-described image projection arrangement is improved by
mounting a plurality of the lasers in a single, common laser
package 200 having a common exit port 202 through which a plurality
of the laser beams pass. Preferably, these lasers constitute red
and blue, solid-state, semiconductor laser chips 204, 206 mounted
on a common substrate 208 within the package 200 for respectively
generating the red and blue laser beams 58, 56. The red chip 204
was previously mounted in the packaged laser 22, while the blue
chip 206 was previously mounted in the blue laser 28. By packaging
a plurality of laser chips in a single package, rather than in a
plurality of packages, overall system weight, size, assembly cost,
and complexity are reduced.
After the laser beams 58, 56 exit the common exit port 202,
according to another aspect of this invention, the laser beams 58,
56 are directed to a common focusing lens 210 through which the
laser beams 58, 56 pass along respective paths. Because the laser
chips 204, 206 are physically located in close proximity in the
package 200, they are at equal distances from the lens 210, and a
single lens 210 can indeed collimate both laser beams 58, 56
simultaneously. A common aperture stop 212 may be located in the
paths of the laser beams 58, 56 exiting the common exit port 202.
Again, by sharing a focusing lens and an aperture stop for a
plurality of beams, overall system weight, size, assembly cost, and
complexity are reduced since a separate optical train for focusing
and shaping each laser beam is not needed.
A downside of the above-described assembly is that the outgoing
beams passing through the lens 210 are slightly misaligned and, as
shown in FIG. 8, diverge in a direction away from the lens 210. The
amount of the misalignment depends on the distance of separation of
the chips 204, 206, as well as on the distance of the lens 210 from
the package 200. By placing the chips closer to each other, the
misalignment can be reduced. The misaligned beams are directed to
the scan mirror 64 where they illuminate spaced-apart spots or
footprints on the scan mirror. These footprints must overlap so
that the scan mirror can be made as small as possible, which helps
to reduce the drive power it requires.
To further reduce the misalignment, an optical corrector element is
provided in at least one of the paths for correcting the
misalignment to produce aligned beams that are directed to the scan
mirror 64. As shown in FIG. 9, a prism 214 is mounted in the path
of one of the beams. As shown in FIG. 10, a lens 216 is mounted in
the paths of both beams 58, 56. As shown in FIG. 11, a prism 218 is
mounted in the paths of both of the beams. As shown in FIG. 12, a
grating 220 is mounted in the paths of both of the beams. The
optical corrector element may also be one or more folding mirrors.
The optical corrector element is operative for directing one laser
beam in at least one of the paths, or both laser beams in a pair of
the paths, to a common footprint on the scan mirror 64.
Exiting the scan mirror, the alignment again manifests as an
angular one, which can be compensated for electronically by
adjusting the relative timing of the modulation signals for the
different lasers in the package 200. In the case of FIG. 10,
because lens 216 introduces additional power, lens 210 may be
chosen such that it under-collimates the beams slightly, to be
compensated for by lens 216.
It is advantageous to place the corrector element relatively close
to the lens 210 so that the spatial separation between the beams is
small. It is also advantageous to use high precision equipment to
fix the spacing between the laser chips in both amplitude and
direction. For example, the chips can be spaced apart only along
the scan direction of each scan line.
It is customary for one or more monitor photodetectors 222 to be
packaged with a laser chip to monitor its output power. For the
package 200, one or more monitor photodiodes can be assigned to
each chip and be mounted on the substrate 208. In this case, an
optical bandpass filter is fitted to each monitor photodiode so
that it only receives light from the chip it is assigned to
monitor.
In another case, only one of the photodiodes is used to monitor all
the chips in the package. The chips are monitored only periodically
and in mutually exclusive time periods during which only one chip
is energized for each period. Typically, the first scan line is
dedicated to power monitoring, and not used for image formation.
This first scan line is usually blocked from the image. This design
further reduces complexity because the monitoring photodiode 222 is
combined for a plurality of chips.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or
two or more together, also may find a useful application in other
types of constructions differing from the types described
above.
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied
in a color image projection arrangement and method, it is not
intended to be limited to the details shown, since various
modifications and structural changes may be made without departing
in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the
gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current
knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without
omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly
constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific
aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should
and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of
equivalence of the following claims.
What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters
Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
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